Improved folding chair



y UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIOE.

JOSEPH D. MEEEIAM, OE ASHBUENHAM, ASSIGNOE TO E. w. vAILL,` OEWORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED FOLDING CHAIR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,324, dated January6, 1863.

To all whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH D. MEERIAM, of Ashburnham, in the countyof"`Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new andImproved Folding Chair; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a perspective view of my imp oved chair unfolded or adaptedfor use. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same folded.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the twogures.

The object of this invention is to obtain a light, portable, andinexpensive chair, which is capable of being folded into a compact andconvenient form for transportation, and Vwhich is equally well adaptedfor household or camp use; and it consists in connecting together thefront and back legs in two places in such a manner as to have only onejoint, and .that being equidistant from the lower ends of the legs thechair will stand in an upright position when folded, the front legsextending upward and with a cross-piece, by which they are connected atthe upper end, forming the back of the chair, all as will be hereinafterfully explained.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A A represent the back, and D D the front, legs, which are made incurved form, of ash,

walnut, or any other Suitable hard wood.4

The back legs, A A, are connected together at their upper and lower endsby bars or rounds B B, which have tenons formed on their outer ends toiit mortises in the legs. The pieces D D, which form the frontlegs andback of the chair, are of nearly double the length of the legs B B andare connected together at top and bottom, respectively, by a board orback piece, H, and bar or round E. Aboutmidway between the board H andround E of the pieces D D is a bar or round, F, to which a piece ofcanvas or carpeting is attached at one edge by tacks or small screws.The opposite edge of the canvas or carpeting is attached in a similarmanner to the crossbar or round B, and forms, when the legs are Spreadout, a yielding seat or bottom to the chair.

A chair constructed in the manner above described, or after myinvention, makes an extremely simple, cheap, and durablepiece OIfurniture, and equally well adapted for use in the house, lecture-room,or camp.

I am aware that the idea of a folding chair is not new, and do not claimSuch, broadly; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

As a new article of manufacture, a folding chair composed of curvedpieces A A andD D, rounds or cross-bars E B B F, flexible seat Gr,back-piece H, and connecting-bar IG,.combined and arranged in the mannerand for the purpose specified. I

J. D. MERRIAM.

Witnesses:

J. H. PIPER, S. E. PIPER.

